Rishi Trikha: The End of History

The End of History uses circus, movement and imagery to explore the revolutions that spread across Europe in 1989 and brought about the collapse of most of the world’s communist systems. An entire political philosophy was almost wiped out in that year; in Eastern Europe, the idea that collectivism was the zenith of human social evolution disappeared, along with all of the rich cultural forms that embodied that view. In Western democracies, the notion of dualism itself was falling apart; the beginning of the decade saw ideas of ‘male and female’, and ‘straight and gay’ being blurred but now even the notion of ‘good and evil’ seemed too simplistic. These changes reverberated as much on a personal level for people living under the two systems as they did on a geopolitical scale.

The End of History explores these shifts from both a micro and macroscopic point of view by drawing from the large public spectacles that were created in the Soviet Union and United States to promote their respective world-views, and then also creates intimate portraits of individuals within the two regimes whose experiences are more nuanced than the propaganda of either side would suggest.

Looking for

Support: The company are currently waiting for a decision from the Arts Council on an application for a further two weeks of research and development funding, and already have support in-kind with rehearsal space from Circus Space. However, they would benefit from further funding to help extend this research and development process and also require the input of a designer. The grant applied for from the Arts Council will not cover those expenses and so the company are seeking other support to achieve those objectives.

Technical specifications

Brief description of set:

The show is at an early stage of development and the set is not yet determined. Work up until this point has been on a bare stage with basic elements such as chairs and tables being carried in as required. The company hope to employ a designer as part of the next phase of the project to create a flexible set that can be effective in the piece's various settings.